Month: April 2019

Leadership Development

Summary of Mentorship Experience

My first-year mentee was Maddy Melzer. She is originally from Cleveland. However, after she came to Ohio State, her family moved down to Florida, which is where she calls home now. Maddy is pursuing a degree in neuroscience with the intent of going to medical school to become a family medicine doctor or an obstetrician-gynecologist. Maddy joined the Advocates for Communities and Education Scholars Program because she actively volunteered all throughout high school, and she wanted to continue volunteering during her college career. She was also interested in being connected with other students who value service as much as she does and organizations that do different forms of advocacy for a wide variety of causes.

Maddy and I connected with each other over our mutual love of Disney, coloring, and volunteering, but we mainly bonded over our passion for baking and cooking. At the ACES Mentorship Speed-Dating event, we talked about all our favorite things to bake and the unique dishes we like to cook. Coming to college and cooking with subpar kitchen appliances in the dorms has not quelled our passion either. At our second semester explore Columbus dinner, we realized that we both were going to voluntarily make big meals for our friend groups on Easter. Most college students I know would not voluntarily make a holiday meal on campus, so Maddy and I must be more similar than we initially realized. We are also connected by the fact that we are both pursuing degrees in STEM fields and are required to take similar prerequisite classes for our majors. The main difference between Maddy and I is our career goals for after we complete our undergraduate degrees, which affects the kinds of involvements we participate in now. Because Maddy wants to go to medical school, her current extracurricular involvements tend to be based in medicine and hard science. I aim to attend graduate school for genetic counseling. My involvements are more service based, so I can learn and practice counseling skills.

Maddy has grown significantly over her first two semesters here at Ohio State. She has figured out how to tailor her study habits to best fit her life as a busy college student. Over the first semester, Maddy identified the study habits and tricks that work best for her. She learned that if she procrastinated studying and waited until a couple days before an exam to cram, she became very anxious and overwhelmed. She used these experiences as examples of what not to do in the future, so she could better establish a prolonged study plan for each of her exams. Maddy has also learned how to budget her time wisely between course work and extracurricular involvements. During her first semester, she tried to be involved in a lot more organizations than she realistically had time for on top of her very heavy first-year neuroscience course load. During her second semester, she cut back on her involvements so she could spend more time participating in what she truly wanted to participate in. Maddy learned to use her club and organization meetings as homework and study breaks, as to maximize her time. She also became more comfortable in her ability to say no to going to club and organization meetings if she was too overwhelmed by her workload.

Being a second-year mentor to a first-year ACES student has taught me many valuable and transferable skills. The main skill I learned was how to listen to another person’s situation and tailor my knowledge and past experiences to help that person in a way that is best for him or her. For example, neuroscience majors and molecular genetics majors are required to take a lot of the same chemistry classes. Because I was year ahead of Maddy in chemistry classes, I was able to give her tips on how the chemistry exams tend to go and recommendations of which professors to get for different classes.

I think the biggest benefit I have received from participating in the ACES Mentorship Program for my capstone project is being given the opportunity to reflect on my freshman year, see how I grew and changed as a person, and use that self-reflection as a way to connect with and help another ACES student who is going through very similar experiences. Having a mentor-mentee relationship also provided me with someone to bounce ideas off of. Maddy and I challenged each other’s views and understandings of the college experience and learned new ways of working together and problem solving.

Spring Explore Columbus

For our second semester explore Columbus activity, Maddy and I went to eat dinner at Brassica. Brassica is a build your own sandwich and salad place that specializes in brassica, which is the scientific name for cabbage. Brassica has four different locations in the Short North, Bexley, Upper Arlington, and Shaker Heights. This evening, we visited the establishment in the Short North, which is located at 680 N High Street. For lent this year, Maddy became a vegan, and I became a vegetarian. When trying to find a place to eat dinner at, we had to make sure the restaurant had accommodations for plant-based diets. We both love Mediterranean food and heard that Brassica had good falafel pitas and well-cooked vegetables. Maddy and I were both looking forward to catching up on each other’s semesters and trying out a new restaurant.

Maddy and I rode the COTA bus down into the Short North. Brassica is at the corner of High Street and Brickel Street, so the bus ride from south campus took a little less than ten minutes. The COTA bus is very helpful for when students need to go up and down High Street because just having to swipe your BuckID to hop on a bus on the east side of campus that simply runs the length of High Street is quick and convenient. Maddy and I missed the closest bus stop, so we got off the bus at the Russell Street stop. We walked north along High Street to Buttles Street, to cross the road at a crosswalk. After crossing the road, we then walked south along High Street, to the restaurant.

Walking around the Short North was so nice because the weather was perfect. Sometimes, as students, it is difficult to spend time outside, other than walking to our classes, because we are so busy between classes, homework, and finals week coming up. Most of our time is spent at a desk indoors. I am glad Maddy and I had the chance to spend a little time walking around outside while the sun was still out.

The Brassica restaurant in the Short North has developed a unique space with a modern and industrial setting. From the exposed brick and green tiles covering the walls, to the marble tables, to the chalkboard signs and menu, to the thick metal rings used to hold up the pitas, Brassica was warm and inviting. When you first walk into the establishment, you are greeted by a large metal oven where the employees are baking the pita breads as you order.

Ordering works similarly to that at Chipotle, where you ask for a pita and a type of protein, then move down the line to choose from a wide variety of cooked vegetables to add to your pita. Maddy and I both ordered falafel pitas and shared a side of fries. The food tasted fantastic. The falafel was flavorful, and all the vegetables were seasoned and roasted to perfection. Maddy and I have found that the most frustrating aspect about dining on campus is the lack of well-cooked vegetables. At the majority of the dining establishments on campus, the vegetables are either steamed until they are mushy, served cold, despite being cooked, or are in limited variety. Getting to eat well-cooked vegetables, seasoned like my parents would have cooked them at home, was a treat.

After eating and having good conversations, Maddy and I took an Uber back to campus because we were tight with time due to our evening plans.

I would absolutely go back to Brassica in the Short North again, and I will recommend it to anyone looking for restaurant recommendations as well. Now that lent it over, I would like to go back to try out some of the other protein options, such as the glazed lamb bacon or the brisket. I would also like to try out some of the other locations Brassica has to see how to establishments differ.

This Explore Columbus Activity was a fantastic way to experience different aspects of the city that students don’t always get the opportunity to try out. Trying out new restaurants in a new city lets you see and experience the cultural background of the city and what locals like to eat and experience. I had been saying that I wanted to go to Brassica for over a year now because I had heard so many good things about its food from people who have lived in Columbus for a long time, but I never found the time or opportunity to go. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to spend good quality time and experience this wonderful restaurant with Maddy.